Memphis Adds Transfer Ashia Jones (Covington)

The University of Memphis women's basketball team has signed transfer forward Ashia Jones it was announced by head coach Melissa McFerrin, Monday.

Last year, Jones was an Associated Press and WBCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree as a sophomore at UT Martin, also garnering Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and OVC Female Athlete of the Year honors. The Covington High School graduate finished fourth in the country in scoring in 2014-15 with a 23.4 points per game average, becoming the third-fastest player in Skyhawk history to the 1,000 career point mark (57 games). She also set single season records at UT Martin last year in points (772), field goals made (287) and 30-plus point games (10).

The 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, Jones also tied the UT Martin single game scoring record last season with 44 points in a game against Murray State on Jan. 31, 2015.

As a transfer, it is likely Jones will have to sit out the 2015-16 season and will be a junior on the Tigers' roster in 2016-17.

"Ashia expressed a very strong desire to be at the University of Memphis," McFerrin said. "She saw an opportunity to compete at a national level and is fully embracing that challenge. Ashia brings a unique combination of defensive passion, competitiveness and scoring ability to our program. She understands our expectations. She is not fearful of the responsibility to produce for her team. She grew up in the shadow of Memphis and is excited to be a Memphis Tiger. We are confident she will be impactful and will continue to grow and mature on and off the court."

Named the TSWA Women's Basketball Player of the Year last season, Jones played her prep career at Covington High School under coach Dion Real. She helped her team to a 34-3 record and a state tournament quarterfinal appearance in 2012-13, the program's first state championship appearance since 2002. She was a Commercial Appeal Best of Preps honoree and was a TSWA Class AA all-state honoree.

The daughter of Wesley and Angela Jones, Ashia was also a member of the National Honor Society at Covington High School. With Jones' addition, the Tigers now have a full 15-scholarship roster. Jones will be the fifth newcomer to a Memphis roster that had no seniors last year. She will be joined by freshmen Milena Bajic and Brianna Porter, and junior college transfers Loysha Morris and Alexis Robinson.